Cordata Gallery is proud to present Modern Meets Primitive, an exhibition featuring local artists Brian O’Neill, Richard Nash, and David Syre.

In a time when artistic language increasingly embraces complexity, the exhibition Modern Meets Primitive invites us to reconsider the primal, the tactile, and the intuitive as essential forces in contemporary art.  Modern Meets Primitive brings together three artists—Brian O’Neill, Richard Nash, and David Syre—whose works explore the meeting point between gestural expressions and timeless, elegant forms. The exhibition looks at how modern art can draw strength from the raw, instinctive, and ancient—reminding us that progress and tradition are not opposites, but parts of the same creative journey. 

Brian O’Neill’s ceramics feel like they come from another time and place. His vessels are earthy, textured, and full of natural variation—yet their forms are carefully shaped, and the surfaces are full of detail and intention. O’Neill balances control and chance, blending traditional craft with a modern eye for minimalism and Eastern aesthetics.

Richard Nash’s paintings, on the other hand, are cool and architectural. Using layers of soft color and overlapping shapes, he builds quiet, abstract spaces that feel both familiar and mysterious. Dramatic contrasts and a textured surface offer a sense of structure and balance, but also openness—like stepping into a calm, meditative room. His sculptures, in contrast, are made from curved steel forms, mostly cones and circles, shaped with great care and with a weather-induced patina. When placed in the open landscape, they connect with their surroundings and invite the viewer to have a direct, physical experience.

David Syre’s bold, colorful works bring an emotional energy that ties the show together. His gestural but abstract paintings often feel symbolic, like ancient signs or tribal markings while the more playful compositions and bright colors of his drawings on black paper ground them firmly in the present. Syre works from intuition, allowing shapes and movement to lead the way, connecting memories and experiences through instinct. The works in this exhibit blend a tribal or primitive feel with a distinctly modern aesthetic.

Together, these artists propose a new way of understanding “primitive” and “modern” —not as unsophisticated, but as essential and a visceral source of inspiration. Not as outdated, but as a return to source. Primitive Meets Modern becomes less a juxtaposition and more a continuum—an invitation to experience material, mark, and meaning beyond the binaries of time.

All artworks are available for acquisition, offering a chance to support local artists and to add to your collection.

The opening reception will take place on July 12, from 2 to 4 PM. The exhibition will run through August 30, 2025.